Known as a forward-thinking musician with a passion for the jazz tradition, guitarist Randy Napoleon tours with the legendary singer/pianist Freddy Cole and leads his own trios, quartet, and three-horn sextet. He is an assistant professor at Michigan State University, where he teaches jazz guitar…

While David Linx's name may not be writ large here in the States, the fifty-one year-old singer, composer and multi-instrumentalist is a mega-star in his native Belgium, and in 2005 was named Best Jazz Musician in Europe, which covers a whole lot of territory. On Brel, Linx sings music composed by his Belgian forerunner, the late and legendary Jacques Brel, accompanied by the world-class Brussels Jazz Orchestra (whose personnel are not listed on the bare-bones promotional copy save for saxophonist / music director Frank Vaganee)…

Originally from Boston where he was born in 1953, the five-time Grammy-nominated Mike Stern is one of the best guitarists and composers of jazz and jazz-fusion of his generation, whose past has become legendary.

Dark Matter, Randy Newman's first album of new material in nine years, is the follow-up to 2008's acclaimed Harps and Angels, which the Guardian called "the work of a true master of popular song." Produced by long-time Newman collaborators Mitchell Froom, Lenny Waronker, and David Boucher, the album includes songs about Vladimir Putin, the Kennedy brothers, Sonny Boy Williamson, science vs. religion, love and loss, and more.

It Won't Be Soon Before Long is the second studio album by the American rock band Maroon 5. It was released in May 2007 as the follow-up to their debut album Songs About Jane (2002). The name was inspired by a phrase the band adopted to keep themselves motivated while on their tour. The album debuted at number one on the U.S. Billboard 200, selling around 430,000 copies in its first week and, as of 2011, approximately 5 million copies worldwide. It is the first Maroon 5 studio release to feature drummer Matt Flynn. The band's former drummer, percussionist and background vocalist – Ryan Dusick, who officially left Maroon 5 in 2006 due to serious wrist and shoulder injuries, was credited as the "Musical Director".

Dark Matter, Randy Newman's first album of new material in nine years, is the follow-up to 2008's acclaimed Harps and Angels, which the Guardian called "the work of a true master of popular song." Produced by long-time Newman collaborators Mitchell Froom, Lenny Waronker, and David Boucher, the album includes songs about Vladimir Putin, the Kennedy brothers, Sonny Boy Williamson, science vs. religion, love and loss, and more.

Randy Brecker is one of the most proficient trumpeters of his generation and brilliantly shows why he has achieved this stature on 34th N Lex. The 11-song paean to his Manhattan, NY, neighborhood is a potent, in-your-face program of hard bop and funky jazz with the likes of his brother, Michael Brecker, on tenor sax; David Sanborn on alto saxophone; Ronnie Cuber on baritone saxophone; and the great trombonist Fred Wesley. The set opens with the free funk and hard bop fusion of horn blasts and honks in different registers, which depict the hustle and bustle of "34th N Lex."